Gifts: The Rocky Crevice
by StormKyrellFosten14
Summary: Ryan, Atka, and Storm are demigods. Ouranos is rising, mad that Gaea was defeated, and they are the only ones who have any chance at stopping him. Together, they embark on a dangerous quest to save the world, trying not to die along the way. Rated T.
1. Ryan

**A/N: Hello, all! This is our first fanfic, so please deal with us. There might be some mistakes, but we try to keep Rick Riordan's characters as in character as possible. And, without further ado, welcome to the world of the OCs!**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns all.**

**Chapter One**

**Ryan**

**I'm Now An Enemy of The U.S. Government (Sort Of)**

Step. Glide. Twirl. Repeat. That's the story of my life for the past hour. My father (being the _wonderful _person that he is) decided to throw a Christmas Ball in my honor. He said this year was special because it was the first one I was spending with him in who knows how long. Not by choice, of course. I was forced into it. The only difference to living in a jail cell is the location. This Ball was thrown at the White House. For those of you who are wondering, my dad's the president of this great, free nation. Yeah, big whoop. It's not really as good as you'd think. Mainly, he just sits in the Oval Office and ignores me.

So, back to the ball. I was currently sitting at one of the many circle tables in the room while my "date" went off to get some drinks. When I say "date", I mean the guy that my dad paid to spend the ball with me so that he didn't have to. The guy, Toby Richards, was nice-ish, but he wasn't really my type. If a fourteen-year-old can have a type.

My gray gaze shifted to where my dad was dancing with some girl that was probably only old enough to be my sister. His latest girlfriend. She was pretty, with long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a thin buildup. My dad was ugly, with his spiky red hair, pudgy face, and beer belly. All I could think about was how he'd managed to land her. I guess being the president has its benefits.

I jumped as someone plopped down beside me. I turned, expecting to see Toby returning with our fruit punch. Instead, I was greeted with a sight that either made me want to burst into tears or laugh until I peed my pants. As you can see, I was a bit emotionally confused. The person sitting beside me was a seventeen-year-old girl with curly blonde hair, gray eyes, and owl earrings. What shocked me most was that Annabeth Chase was in a dress. "You're in a dress?" I asked incredulously.

"You are too," Annabeth retorted.

"Touché," I replied, tugging subconsciously on the hem of my dress. Stupid Ball and stupid dress code. Annabeth laughed, and I grinned widely. "So, not to be rude or anything, but why are you here?"

She smiled. "Your dad invited me. He said the party was for you. In fact," she handed me a box, "he said to bring a gift."

I impatiently pushed aside the box that I knew was empty, my grin quickly fading into a frown. "That's about the first nice thing he's done for me since, you know…" My voice trailed off uncertainly, my chin trembling.

Annabeth reached out and patted me awkwardly on the arm. I knew she wasn't good at emotional moments, but at least she was trying. "Uh, well, I guess you could come back to camp," she said.

I shook my head. "Dad won't let me leave until June First. He thinks we need some bonding time." I shuddered at the thought. Annabeth frowned, looking slightly uncomfortable. I turned my gaze back to where my dad was currently making out with his Secretary of State. Not the best behavior for the president, but you know, what're you going to do? Impeach him? If we're lucky. But I'm hardly ever lucky, so that won't happen.

I watched the other guests. Over by the concession table, I saw a fat guy from the House of Representatives eating a hot dog while holding two more in his other hand. On the dance floor, an old lady from the Senate was trying (unsuccessfully, I might add) to hook up with a guy that looked to be about twenty. A little way away from her, the vice president (who'd told me to call him "Uncle" Dan, by the way) was dancing with his wife ("Auntie" Tia). Their son, a fifteen-year-old hottie named James, was standing nearby, chatting with the Secretary of Education's daughter. I felt a pang of jealousy, for some reason, and resolved not to watch the guests anymore.

"Ryan? I think your date's coming back," Annabeth said, waving a hand impatiently in front of my face. I pushed a strand of my strawberry blonde hair behind my ear (it's so annoying when it's not in a ponytail) and turned to look. Striding toward me was, sure enough, Toby, holding two cups of punch. He did a double take when he saw Annabeth, but it didn't deter him as much as I'd hoped it would. He just kept coming, oblivious to my look of dread.

"Who's this, Ry?" he asked when he reached us, flinging an arm protectively around my shoulders.

I shrugged it off roughly before turning to face him. "First off, don't call me Ry. That's just weird. Second, this is Annabeth, my older sister. And third, quit it with the protection mumbo jumbo. I'm not wimpy, and neither are most girls, so get used to it, bucko," I said fiercely, stomping my foot in agitation.

Toby blinked. "Your… older sister?"

I rolled my eyes. "Half sister, more like. We have the same mom, but we both live with our dads. We haven't seen our mom since last August. She's seventeen, and we need to catch up, so if you'll excuse us…" I trailed off, confused on how to get away without being rude. I'm usually not like that, but you know. There's a first time for everything.

Toby stepped threateningly in front of me, his hands on his hips, his glare intensifying. "Why the rush, sweetheart?" he drawled. "Afraid of growing up? Want to be your daddy's little girl forever?" he teased. That was so far from the truth it wasn't even funny, but I decided to let him roll with it.

"So what if I do?" I asked, my gray eyes flashing menacingly. "You wouldn't want to date a daddy's girl, would you? It would be a bit of a slap in the face to your tough-guy reputation, I'd have to say," I added knowledgeably.

He frowned, and I have to say, I'm quite proud of how smart I was. I guess it's those Athena genes kicking in. "So… you actually _are _a daddy's girl?" he asked. It's amazing what details he gets stuck on.

"No, you idiot! I'm basically the opposite! I'm in a rebellious stage, in case you haven't noticed!" I shouted, barely suppressing the urge to smack him upside the head. "Haven't you heard of sarcasm?"

Toby turned his green eyes to the ground, where they moved frantically in all directions. "I'll never understand the twenty-first century," he whispered, just loud enough for me to hear him.

Uh-oh. Usually when people start talking about the twenty-first century as if they're not native to it, you have to draw your sword. It's only happened to me a couple of times, but you learn pretty quickly. Although, I have to say, I prefer the direct approach of "I'm going to eat your little demigod head off!" It's more my style. Call me crazy, but something about deceitfulness just turns me off.

Toby looked up, seeming to have realized his mistake too late. Annabeth stood rigidly next to me, and I fought to keep my voice from shaking with fear. "Toby, are you a monster?" I asked stiffly. "A nice one, or a fire-breathing one?" The truth is, there's hardly anything in-between.

"A nice monster? No, not nice, exactly. And not fire-breathing either, but a monster nonetheless." He frowned, as if deep in thought.

Annabeth and I took this time to share a frantic look before drawing our weapons, me a cavalry sword, her a dagger, which attracted the attention of nearly all the mortals in the room, save my dad and his girlfriend, who were still too busy to notice anything out of the ordinary. I wish all mortals could be as oblivious as him. But these definitely weren't, as they all turned to stare at us. Just my luck. It's like it was annual "Stare At A Teenager Day" or something. Typical. Right when I needed it most, the Mist abandoned my life completely.

I turned to look back at Toby, but another face looked back at me. It was a dark black slippery seal, with fins stretching out at awkward places along its abnormally long body. However, its head was that of a Doberman, except for the fact that its fangs were stained red with the blood of its victims. A telekhine. Well, there you have it, folks. The in-between.

We studied each other for a second or two, each of us trying to gauge the other's readiness to fight. I glanced at Annabeth out of the corner of my eye, saw that she was gazing at us apprehensively, and that was all it took. The thing that used to be Toby pounced. I barely deflected the blow in time, throwing my blade up in front of my face at the last possible second. It only hit the telekhine's teeth, though, so it didn't disintegrate him like I'd hoped it would. Instead, it just made him mad.

Cursing under my breath, I turned to face the telekhine again. "Attack plan ABC!" I shouted at Annabeth. Yeah, yeah, I know that makes no sense to you people who are reading this, but it would've made sense to anyone who'd passed the intermediate fighting course at Camp Half-Blood. It just so happens that Annabeth and I were in the advanced class, so she understood me perfectly.

Basically, the ABC plan involved intricate movements. One person in the duo had to hold the monster's attention, making sure it didn't turn around (that's my job!). The other person had to sneak behind the monster, so as to attack it from both directions (Annabeth's job).

Ten minutes later, a pile of monster dust lay at our feet. The guests to the party stared at us, mouths hanging open. My dad and his girlfriend were still oblivious. I smiled nervously at them, sure that we were about to be arrested for PDV (public display of violence), but nothing happened. "Remember, kids, don't try this at home!" I said, trying to lighten the mood. "So, thanks for watching the show, guys, and I hope to be back next year." With that, Annabeth and I jumped through the window, shattering the glass, and the last thing I heard before leaving hearing distance was someone shouting "Somebody grab them!" Man, mortals never change. So predictable.

I led the way, seeing as I knew the area, and jumped into one of my dad's many cars. "Get in, get it!" I hissed at Annabeth, and before I knew it, we were tearing down the streets of D.C., Annabeth at the wheel. Before you rule-followers out there get all mad about underage driving, remember that Annabeth is seventeen. She has her driver's license.

As we entered Maryland at eighty miles per hour, I began to register what sounded like sirens coming from behind us. Police cars. _Great. _"Um, Annabeth? Might need to pick up the pace. We're being followed."

Annabeth frowned, chancing a glance at the rearview mirror as she increased the speed to a hundred miles per hour. "Ryan?" she asked. I turned expectantly in her direction. "Do you think this will go on our permanent records?"

I pondered this for a moment before answering. "Well, seeing as all the whole U.S. Government now thinks of us as either fugitives, or terrorists, or both, I'd say the answer is yup," I said, popping to p. Annabeth pursed her lips bracingly.

The two of us continued to dodge traffic as if our lives depended on it (which, if you were paying attention earlier, they kind of _did_) for what felt like five hours (probably because it was five hours). Finally, we hit New York City. The car surprisingly still had a lot of gas, and the cops were still, not so surprisingly, on our tail. Our only hope was to somehow lose them in New York traffic before we reached Camp Half-Blood. Like that was ever going to happen. Although, I highly doubt that Athena would want two of her daughters to be arrested for something they didn't do. So I guess our chances were better than I thought.

I heard outraged New York cops yelling at us to slow down, and then joining the chase once they saw the other cops. I rolled my eyes, screaming at Annabeth to hurry up. She screamed back that she was trying. And she was actually doing a pretty good job, since we reached Long Beach Island within minutes of me screaming at her. The cops were still following us, but we tore down the roads nonetheless.

Finally, we reached Half-Blood Hill a mile ahead of those troublemakers. "That'll really mess the cops up, seeing two teenagers disappear. How are we going to enter Camp Half-Blood without them seeing?" Annabeth asked.

I grimaced as the sound of the sirens got closer. "We can't."

Jumping out of the car, the two of us raced up the hill. The cops pulled up just as we reached the top, and I heard one shout into a megaphone. "Stop right there! We've got you surrounded!"

Of course, being who we were, there was no way _that _would happen. I waved cheekily in his direction before Annabeth and I took one step backward into Camp Half-Blood. The astonished, confused, and sometimes outraged look that crosses mortals' faces when we simply disappear never gets old. I didn't have any chance to enjoy it, however, because the second we crossed the boundary, Annabeth pulled me with her toward the Big House. A familiar sight greeted my eyes.

I was home.

**A/N: Like it? Hate it? Think we suck? Send it in a review! Thing One wrote this chapter.**


	2. Atka

**Hiya!**

**Disclaimer: Some characters belong to Rick Riordan!**

**Chapter 2**

**Atka**

**My Life Goes from Bad to Horribly Wrong (In About 20 Minutes)**

"Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Ro-"

Click!

"-And the next winner of American Idol is-"

Click!

"May the odds be ever in your fav-"

Click!

"Stop with the clicking already!"

I sat glaring at John as he turned to look at me from the sofa. He pointed the remote at me, waggling it in front of my face as he began to talk.

"Look here Ashley-"

"Atka."

"I don't want any of your_ sass _he in my house! My wife and I have been givin' you food, water and a place to sleep. So don't go telln' me what I can and can't do, missy."

I winced and potato chip bits flew from his mouth. Disgusting, I know. You're probably wondering something like; "Girl you actually live here?" Actually I don't really live here…and I'm not related to these people, thankfully! This is more like my imprisonment and eternal torture for being an orphan. Suckish? Yup. Chance of escape? At the moment, nada. Thus the life of a foster teen. From the corner of my eye, I watched John sigh and struggle up from the sofa.

"Mary," he barked. A yell came from somewhere in the other room and John wife poked her head through the doorway. Her blond hair was tightly curled around her pudgy face. (She made me swear never to tell anyone that she dyed it when I accidentally saw the bottle while looking for toothpaste) Mary made her way into the living room and glared at me where I sat on the floor in the corner. She gave John a "loving" look that almost made me want to gag.

"What's wrong, Boopsy?"

That's it, I'm officially gonna puke.

"Is the girl bothering you again?"

This last line I took as a personal offense. But John just waved her off.

"Nah, she's just bein' a bit of a brat."

Excuse me?

"But, as I was saying, I though dinner was supposed to be ready an hour ago?"

Mary smiled.

"Oh honey, I'm makin' your favorite again, remember? Pot roast (with all the fat) and gravy!" She turned back into the kitchen. "You know it takes a while."

From somewhere up stairs the sound of feet came and in moments two children came running stairs taking two at a time. I backed up against the wall again as the two barreled into the living room.

"Daddy, Timmy's poking me!"

"Am not!"

"Am to!"

"Na-a!"

"Ya-ha!"

"Na-a!"

"Ya-"

"Alright already!" John cam over to the two children and guided them into the kitchen. As he past the stairs he yelled:

"Tyler git down here!"

Once again, someone made their way down the stairs. Mary glared as her oldest son made his way into the kitchen. I craned my neck, trying to listen in as they began to talk quietly. Finally, Tyler came into the living room and stood before me, a look of disgust flashing across his face. I returned it happily. With a growl Tyler reached down and grabbed me by the wrist. Your probably thinking something along the lines of "Kick 'em in his soft spot" but, trust me guys, I knew what I was doing.

Quietly we walked to the backdoor and together made our way outside into the backyard. The minute the backdoor was closed Tyler released his grip on me. I rubbed my wrist.

"You know, you didn't have to grab sorry."

Tyler flashed a quick smile.

'Sorry."

I tried to look into to his to see what he was thinking, but he looked away before I could. Darn, why did he have to look so good? We stood awkwardly, staring at the people passing by behind the fence of the yard. Tyler was still for a moment before he turned to me again. His eyes shined as he looked at me. Would you look at that! The cute 15-year-old liking little 14-year-old me. How sweet!

"Why didn't you go." Tyler's voice dragged me back into reality.

"What?"

"Don't you…" his voice trailed off. "Didn't you see?"

"See what?"

Tyler shook his head,

"I left the front door unlocked for you…"

I stared at him. He left the door open for…me? I shook my head.

"Why?" I searched his brown eyes for an answer, but found nothing. The December wind ruffled his soft brown hair. Suddenly, Mary's voice came from inside.

"Tyler! Dinner! NOW!"

Tyler winced and turned to me.

"Leave, now!"

"W-what?" I spluttered.

"Go now!" His voice took on an urgent tone. "Over the fence."

"But the g-gates not open."

Tyler gave a quick smile.

"Atka, I've seen you jump."

I must've blushed cause Tyler smiled again. From inside, I heard Mary's voice, now filled with annoyance.

"Tyler!"

Tyler stared at and took my hand. For a moment, one hopeful moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but he just squeezed my hand and turned, dashing towards the back door. He paused before going in, but than entered without looking back. The door closed behind him. I felt a lump in my throat, but shook it off. Instead I ran towards the fence and leaped over, using my hands. I took off down the street, the house I had been forced to live in disappearing behind me down the street. Once again, I was utterly alone.

I dashed down the street of L.A., dodging shoppers, daily commuters and street vendors. Why, you ask, was I running when clearly no one was chasing after me? To be truthful, I really don't know, but I wasn't about to stop and see if John and Mary were trying to catch up. (Just a side not: I don't call them by their last name. Why call someone by their respectable last name when you don't respect them?") However, I doubted they would be able to catch up to me. Your see, I'm a bit long and lanky, and they were well, pretty short and chubby. I wonder how Tyler got his good looks.

Still this L.A. we're talking. Somebody's bound to notice a teen in dirty clothes running down the streets of the city as if her life depended on it. Sure enough, within a few minutes, some idiot with a cell phone was running after me.

"Hey, you! Stop! Hey, HEY!"

I kept running of course. Honestly, what did he think I was going to do. Stop and politely explain why I was running? Yeah right.

I took off, dodging people, turning corners, knocking over fruit stands and basically wrecking half of Los Angelos. You know, just you everyday model teen. More people were starting to notice now. Everywhere, they began whipping out cell phones, calling and texting whoever about a runaway girl. Oh, joy. As I past a small boy, I heard his father say into his phone; "Teenage hobo on the run…" I skidded to a stop and backed up till I was directly in front of him. He was so stunned he dropped his cell. Frowning I jabbed a finger at him.

"I- am not- a hobo!"

With a huff, I turned and kept running. Stupid, I know but I dare you not to stop and correct someone calling you a hobo.

I past a Macy's. Bad memories: Mary forcing me into a pink dress with ruffles. Keep running. Tom and Bobs Hardware Store. Timmy accidentally aiming an electric saw ant me and nearly chopping off my leg. I past a shoe store and almost recalled my hatred for high heels (Don't get me started) when hundreds of screams filled the air. Everywhere, people fell silent as the terrified yells echoed down the streets. I stopped dead in my tracks. Before me stood a sign for the city zoo. I shivered. Animals being kept in cages, confined and alone. I felt my ADHD acting up. I shrugged off my discomfort and went inside. Luckily nobody noticed I didn't have a ticket. In fact, nobody noticed me at all. They were all to busy running for their lives. Everywhere, people were streaming toward the exit. I calmly dodged people as they ran past; navigating the mobs of terrified zoo visitors. Here and there, cops and zoo officials alike were trying to herd people out in an orderly fashion, but it didn't seem to be working to well in their favor. I couldn't understand what was getting people so riled up, unless…

A hazy memory began to resurface and the left side of my face burned at the thought. I was glad I had let my hair fall over that side of my face that day. If people were to see…

A howl ripped through the area and every where people felt silent. I swear I could hear people breathing, it was so quiet. Suddenly terrified scream shattered the stillness and once more people began mobbing the exit. More howls pierced the air and I shivered. There was something extremely familiar about that sound, something I couldn't quiet place.

The cops and police finally began to get control of the crowds of people and soon there was nobody left in the zoo but me. I turned towards the exit. I wasn't quite scared, but a little miffed that they had just left a 14-year-old in the middle of a closed zoo.

"Thanks guys," I said waving a hand to nobody. "I really appreciate it."

I would've said more, but something growled behind me. I whipped around, turning so fast I fell back onto the ground. Before me stood a silver wolf, its mouth dripping with blood, surprisingly crimson. The animal regarded me with cold eyes, licking its chops. Behind it, something lay on the ground, its neck slit open in a bloody grin. I gasped for breath and scrambled back. The wolf took a step back also, staring at the body behind it. I followed its gaze and as I gazed at the body I felt my throat constrict. IT was a women, clad in, was that Greek armor? But instead of legs, two snake tails sprung from her abdomen. Her skin was scaly and green. I gulped and looked at the wolf.

"What is it?"

I wasn't quite excepting a response, so you can imagine how surprised I was when it replied, in my head;

_Dracnae. Snake women._

My mouth fell open and the wolf snorted. He (It was defiantly a _he_) seemed to be laughing at me, his mouth parted in a toothy grin.

"Y-you can t-talk?"

_All animals can talk._ His voice was calm, like it was full of wisdom, but he seemed young too.

"Yet for some reason I can understand you?"

The wolf seemed to shrug.

_That I cannot explain._

I shook my head. I'd seen weird stuff before, but this was all time new.

'So…what's your name," I asked, trying to break the silence that had fallen between us.

_Lykos._

"Wolf," I said immediately. Wait? Where did that come from.

_Greek. _Lykos said, as if reading my mind._ Lykos is Greek for wolf._

"I realize that" I said, a little freaked out. Lykos tilted his head. He blinked and said;

_What's your name?_

I stared at him, unable to answer a moment.

"Atka," I finally muttered. "Atka DeLuca."

_Ah, a bit of Italian, huh?_

"All actually."

Lykos snorted as if this was a joke. Then, he lifted a paw and pointed it at my direction. I stared at him. He stared at me and wagged his paw, as if waiting for a response. Was this some kind of wolf greeting or something?

_Shake. _Lykos said, a bit confused. _Don't you humans shake when you greet others._

"Oh," I said, trying to hide my embarrassment. I shook his paw and together we stood. I looked around. On either side we were surrounded by tall fence.

"Hoe are we gonna get out' I asked.

_Oh, _Lykos said, and I swore I could hear him laughing. _That's easy._

Before I knew it he had lifted me onto his back. For the first time I realized how big he was. Like way bigger that any normal wolf should have been. I struggled to get a grip of his silver fur. I was about six feet off the ground. Lykos growled and took off right towards the seven foot tall fence. I closed my eyes as he leaped, clearing the fence in a single jump easily. We landed on the other side, scattering people everywhere.

"By the way," I yelled above the screaming crowd, by now, police had surrounded us, weapons ready. 'How did you go from normal sized wolf to giganto like that?"

_Mist._ Lykos said simply, as if that cleared everything up.

"Mist? Like in fog mist?" I asked. Lykos shook his great head.

_I'll tell you later._

'So then I guess your sticking around?" I said with a smile. Lykos growled happily in response. (And don't ask how I knew it was happy. I just knew, okay?) Suddenly all the officers aimed their guns.

"Shoot," I heard an officer yell, but Lykos leaped as the gunshots sounded. We landed on the on the street, creating cracks in the pavement.

"Where are we going?" I said, laughter ebbing into my voice. Lykos tossed his head, his silver fur shining in the winter sun.

_Camp! _He said happily and took of down the street.

**Did you like? Did you hate it? Think we still suck? Please, leave a review! Written by Thing 2! **


	3. Ryan 2

**A/N: Thank you so much to our first three reviewers: Xylia Ren, ForeverPurpleAndInLove, and GinnyAndHarry4Life. Thank you guys so much, we really appreciate it! And now, without further ado, the chapter. And, for the Greek, sorry if there's a mistake, but I used Google Translate. Sorry.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns all.**

**Chapter Three**

**Ryan**

**Me- The International, Overnight Sensation**

Where was I? Oh, yes, Annabeth and I were running to the Big House. Mind you, it was five in the morning, so we were trying to be quiet, but when does anything work out the way we want it to? Oh, good, you guys have been paying attention. The answer is never.

All the lights flew on in every cabin, as well as the Big House. Annabeth and I froze as confused teenagers stuck their heads out of their cabin's door, scratching their heads or rubbing their eyes tiredly. There was a moment's pause. Then- "CHRION!" Annabeth and I shouted together, resuming our panicked running once more.

When we flung the door open, I was greeted with a scene that I never wanted to see again- Chiron with his horse tail in curlers. Trust me, you've never seen anything as frightening as a centaur in his night clothes. I was so freaked out that I began speaking rapidly in Greek. "Ímastan sto Lefkó Oíko kai tin imerominía mou metatrápike se telekhine kaiton skótose, allá tóte tha kynigoúse kai sti synécheia írthame edó." Which, for those of you English-speakers, basically summed everything up.

Chiron smiled at me, his kind eyes calming me down. My breathing began to return to normal; my heart slowed down. The haunted look in my eyes faded away. I was safe. "It just so happens, my dear, that I already know your story," Chiron said in English. How could he know? Before I could ask, however, he spoke again. "Come with me to the den. You have lots to see."

I frowned, shared a puzzled glance with Annabeth, and followed him into the room. It was a large room with the Ping-Pong table, the leopard's head, and Mr. D, sitting there with a glass of grape juice balancing precariously on the arm of the La-Z-Boy he was sitting in. The only difference from what I was used to was that on the mantel of the fireplace sat a TV that I'd never seen before in my life. Chiron turned it on and then stepped back.

The screen flickered to life, and an old, balding, gray-haired man was smiling at me. Before I could ask why the heck I was watching this, he began to speak. "Last night, at eleven thirty-two, the president's daughter, Ryan Rose Whiston, appears to have destroyed the White House's party room. Pictures taken by concerned bystanders were recovered just moments after the event."

I watched as picture after picture of Annabeth and I jumping through the window showered the screen. The reporter's voice continued in voice-over. "As you can see, she wasn't acting alone. Some other girl, probably her sidekick, was with her. We can't be sure if they meant any harm, but here's a picture of Ryan about to deliver the killing blow to a defenseless puppy with a baseball bat." A picture of me about to chop off the telekhine's head popped up. "Thoughts, Robin?" the reporter asked.

The scene shifted so that I was looking at an African-American woman with dark brown, short, curly hair. "Well, Bill," she said knowledgably, "I don't know what to think. It's really far-fetched to think of two teenagers as terrorists, but what else would they be, really? They trashed the center of the U.S. Government. I feel sort of bad for the president. What a sad day it is when your own flesh and blood turns against you and your country. After the break, a coincidence or not? Wild teens are on the loose all throughout the country." The screen flashed to a commercial for Listerine mouthwash.

I rounded on Chiron. "I'm on Good Morning America?"

Chiron shook his head. "You're on every news station in the world."

"I'm on World News With Diane Sawyer?" I asked. It's my favorite news station. When Chiron shook his head, I frowned and couldn't help but mumbling, "I guess not _every _station." It's not my fault my ADHD was acting up.

He handed me today's Washington Post newspaper. "Look, Ryan!" he said sarcastically. "You even made the front page!"

I looked down at it bitterly. The picture was of Annabeth and I jumping through the window, and I have to say, we looked pretty heroic. My long hair was flying out behind me, and I couldn't help but notice how the tips of my hair that had been dyed sea green were starting to fade. "Aw, man," I said, sighing exasperatedly. "I have to go back to the hairdresser again."

Before anyone could think of what to say, Good Morning America came back on, and all attention shifted back to that. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. I hated it when people thought of me as a girl. I'm usually what you would call a tomboy.

"Hello, and this is Robin Roberts back with your news." There was a slight pause, and I got the impression that she was listening to something on her earpiece. "Breaking news, just in! A homeless girl running amok in the streets of Los Angeles alongside a silver horse! This duo has almost wrecked the city! Wouldn't you say so, Bill?"

The screen flashed back to the same man from before. "I would, Robin. She looks to be running from something, but what? And her running away on the same day as the president's daughter? Coincidence? I think not. When we return, the family who lost everything when their house caught on fire in a freak lightning storm in the Rockies."

A picture of the girl on her horse flashed on the screen before it went to commercial. If I looked close enough, I realized that the "horse" was not a horse at all. First off, it had a snout. Secondly, instead of hooves it had paws. Trick of the Mist, I'd say. "That's not a horse," I pointed out. Everyone turned and stared at me. "What? Sorry if I'm slow on the uptake," I muttered. Annabeth cracked a smile.

Chiron opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to the punch. "You know," I began, "we didn't start it. It was the telekhine's fault, just for the record." The hint of a smile graced Chiron's lips, and when I looked over his shoulder I could see the streaks of gray lighting the sky. For the first time, I realized that I had stayed up all night, and how tired I was. "Uh, Chiron?" I asked. "Can we talk about this later? I'm kind of tired since I stayed up all night."

Chiron nodded, because he looked tired himself, and Annabeth and I left the room. I hate how blunt I am sometimes, but I blame my ADHD for that. It makes me say what I feel. When we entered the Athena cabin, our brother, Malcolm, was sleeping on his bed. He was the only one there, as it was only December, and everyone else was only a summer camper. Without even sparing another glance in his direction, I flopped down on my bed and fell asleep right away.

linebreaklinebreak

The mist surrounded me, swirling around my feet and legs. It engulfed me, closing around me, threatening to choke me in its icy tendrils. I froze, thinking that something was terribly wrong, and I began to hold my breath. Something was coming, I could feel it. Only nothing was coming, and I ended up suffocating on my stupidity, not able to take a breath. Suddenly, strong, warm arms held me, hugged me, providing me with comfort. "Calm down, Ryan." His voice made a single tear escape my left eye. "You're safe."

I turned then, and found that I could breathe, but I almost stopped again when I saw him. His curly blonde hair was sticking up all over his head, and his blue eyes twinkled with mischief and barely suppressed mirth. He smiled, his perfect teeth nearly blinding me. His light freckles on his nose stood out more than ever in this vast wilderness. "TJ," I breathed, taking in everything greedily. "I miss you," I whispered, reaching out to touch him but touching only air instead. He was only a figment of my imagination.

He looked at me, a quizzical expression on his face, and he got the look that he always got when he read my thoughts. "Ryan," he mumbled, "I'll never truly be gone. You know that. I'm always with you."

I turned my anguished gray eyes on him. They seemed to be asking him to come back, to be with me once more. Only he could never come back, at least not from where he was. "TJ, don't say that. You _aren't _with me, and that's the problem." I barely held back a sob, choosing to remain strong. He had never seen me cry, and it wasn't going to start now.

"That's not true, Ryan. I've always been with you, in your head, your heart, your everyday motions. Just one more thing, Ryan: don't forget me." He turned his ice blue eyes on me, seeming to be forcing me to his will, but he didn't have to. There was no way possible that I could forget him, and he seemed to know it, too.

TJ started to walk away, nearing the edge of my line of sight. He began to glow, and before I could process what that meant he was gone. "No!" I screamed, my voice nearly shattering my dream world. "Don't leave me!" Then the mist was gone, replaced my the endless darkness that precedes the world of the living.

linebreaklinebreak

I woke up in a flash, almost banging my head on the top of my bed. Annabeth was standing over me, looking concerned, and I vaguely realized that my sheets were coated in sweat, and the blankets were thrown into various places throughout the room. I looked out the window that was right across from my bed. The sun was high in the sky, which meant that it was about noon. There was no sign of Malcolm, so I guessed that he was at lunch. I got up abruptly and marched my way up to the Big House for some answers without even acknowledging Annabeth's presence.

When we got there, I noticed that there appeared to be a big argument going on in the living room. (Ha, get that, "big" argument, "big" house? I amaze myself with my true wit sometimes.) The argument was between Chiron, Mr. D, and Storm Fosten, son of Zeus, and my best friend. "You may not, under any circumstances, go see her! She stayed up all night, and needs some sleep!" Chiron shouted. For some reason, I got the impression that they were talking about me. I have really good intuition about these things.

"So, what's up, Chiron?" I said, walking into the room and interrupting everything they were saying. Everyone's eyes flew to me instantaneously, and I had to pride myself on how popular I was. Four words and it's like I'm the queen of England.

"Ryan!" Storm yelled, flinging his arms around my neck roughly. Chiron said something along the lines of "Be careful!" but I shrugged it off, choosing to throw my arms around Storm just as viciously. We hugged for what seemed like forever until someone (I think it was Annabeth. She gets awkward around these kinds of moments.) cleared their throat.

"We have a lot to discuss, young lady," Chiron and Mr. D said at the exact same time. Creepy. I turned to face them with a sheepish and slightly guilty expression on my face. Chiron continued from there, Mr. D having slunk back into the shadows. "You have to be more careful around mortals! This must never happen again, or they'll begin to see through the Mist. We can't have them exposed to our world!"

I fired up at once. "Oh, so it's my fault, is it? I can't control my so-called demigod stench! Why don't you blame the ten or so satyrs posing as Secret Service men that let him sneak by? They're the ones who are supposed to smell monsters, not me!"

Chiron sighed exasperatedly. "I knew you would react this way," he said, as if proving a point to Storm, who still had an arm slung protectively over my shoulders. I know what you're thinking, that I had pushed "Toby's" arm off me when he had done the same thing, but I just didn't have the energy to do that to Storm. "Just try to be more careful, okay? If you're going to live in the mortal world-"

I cut him off. "Look, Chiron. I don't _want _to live with my dad. Maybe the mortal world isn't right for me. We just don't _mix _right." I looked to Storm and Annabeth for support. "The mortal world hates you, too, right?" I asked them. Storm nodded confirmation, and with a slight hesitation Annabeth followed suit. "See?" I asked, proving my point.

Chiron sighed. "I didn't want to have to play this card, but the last time I was up at Olympus I spoke to your mother, Ryan." I held my breath. What did dear Athena have to say to her darling daughter, me? "She said for me to tell you that she wants you to bond with your father. She thinks you need to spend more time being his daughter, and less being hers."  
I sighed. "Dad and I don't want to _bond_. We want to spend as little time with each other as possible. That's why I hadn't seen him in three years until a couple months ago. These last few months are the longest I've spent in his presence since I was six and came to Camp Half-Blood. Does she even care about me at all?"

"Your mother does love you, Ryan," Chiron said. "You know how gods and goddesses can't show it, though."

I frowned, the gray eyes that I had oh-so-unfortunately inherited from my mother crackling menacingly. "You know, I declare this conversation over. I'll stay here year-round, and that's final. C'mon, Storm." I took his hand and we were out of there. I felt bad leaving Annabeth there, but she had always had a close relationship with Chiron, so I was sure she could hold her own. Plus, I needed some quality time with Storm.

"So how are you?" I asked him when we sat down at the beach by Long Island Sound. His jet-black hair hung in front of his ice blue eyes, and his feet dangled in the water, next to mine. Our shoes and socks sat a ways up the beach.

He stared down at the water before he answered. "I'm fine. What happened at your dad's, Ryan?" he asked, raising his head to stare directly into my eyes.

"Oh, well, you know…" I said, stalling. "Same old, same old." He raised his eyebrows. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you," I said, annoyed. "My date turned into a telekhine and Annabeth and I had to kill it in front of about a hundred mortals. The mortals mistook my sword for a baseball bat, though." Storm laughed, and I laughed with him. We laughed so much, and couldn't stop for what seemed like the longest time. It was great to be back.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! We've been really busy, but I hope you liked this chapter! It was kind of a filler, but I hope it turned out okay. Please review! Thing One wrote this chapter.**


	4. Atka 2

**Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated yet. My computer kinda shut down the internet (if that's even possible) so…yeah.**

**Written by Thing 2.**

**Chapter 4**

**I'm Attacked by the Dog of Death ( and saved, all in one day!)**

I sat on top of Lykos, staring in wonder at the towering skyscrapers around me. Everywhere, people hurried back as fourth along crowded streets, entering shops, delis or office buildings. Lykos made a grunting noise.

_I hate the city._

I could understand why. It was so crowded here and there was no green. Still. The flashing lights and smells of food intrigued me.

_It would make a nice vacation spot._

Lykos grunted again and, as a large coach bus drove by, bounded out onto the street, dodging cars. He seemed to go unnoticed by any of the passing people, despite his abnormal size.

_It's the mist. I'm tell'n you it's the mist._

_Please explain to me what the mist actually is!_

Lykos sighed.

_It's like a blanket, sort of, that covers our world, shielding it from mortals' eyes._

_Our world? Mortals?_

Lykos ignored me and kept running. At one point he slowed as we passed an electronics store. Inside, I-Pads sat on display. Almost all of them had been programmed to certain television channels and above them hung a sign that said; "Watch your favorite channels for free with the new T.V. App!"

I didn't know why Lykos had stopped to look at the tablets. Could wolves even buy apps…much less own an I-Pad? But I soon realized that wasn't hat he was looking into buying one. One of the I-Pads had been set to the Fox News channel. I watched in awe as snapshot after snapshot of Lykos and I flashed by on the screen. The screen tuned back to a blond woman on a curved couch.

"That's right Brian. This adolescent girl and her…is that a horse? Have been wrecking havoc all throughout the western states. Could this have any relation to our next story, involving the precedence daughter and her escape from the white house? More on this breaking news, up next."

The screen cut to commercials.

I stared open mouth at the I-Pad. This had to be a dream. A horrible dream.

_Don't worry. _Lykos spoke in my mind. _We're in New York now, baby. _I heard a hint of laughter ebbing into his already excited voice. _No one's gonna notice us!_

We dashed back out onto the street, ignoring the smells of hotdogs cooking mixed with gasoline. I could feel the wind rushing past my face and, for once in my life, I felt truly free. Like there was nothing in the world that could hold me back. Weird I know, but try not feeling like that after being orphaned and stuck in a dirty foster home for most of your life.

About 30 minutes later we left the city, running through the country side.

"Where are we going?" I yelled over the wind, and then remembered I could've just asked in my head.

_Camp._

_You keep saying that. What's camp?_

Lykos sighed and continued running. I felt a little put off, but no matter what I said Lykos stayed quiet until he finally told me I would find out soon. Did I mention I hate when people say that too me? And wolves. You get the point.

We slept under the stars that night, talking to each other about what had happened so far. I remembered Lykos denying my suggestion to travel by plane, but never actually telling me why.

_We just can't, _He'd said when I asked why. I sighed. I wasn't sure how I was putting up with this. I wondered why had even come. Was it a mistake? But there was something about the wolf that urged me to listen and follow him. He told me himself that he was young and that this was a first for him (which didn't really reassure me, along with the fact that he didn't tell me what it was a first too.) So why was I here?

(RANDOM LINE BREAK)

As we stared at the hill, I felt my arms going numb. The rain splashed against the ground, the sound sending shivers up my back. Lykos seemed to feel the same way and he kept shifting his footing. I felt like he knew something I didn't…like other than what he already knew. The fact that Lykos was keeping something from me scared me. Even though I had just met this…wolf…I felt that I should trust him. That we should be friends. I just had this feeling that we were meant to find each other, like something larger, more powerful, had already decreed that it be so.

Lykos leaned forward and I heard bits and pieces of his thoughts, rushing past my conscience, along with a wave of strong emotions.

_Camp…gotta…get…run…monsters…_

The rain felt cold against my skin. Monsters. Camp. This all seemed to unreal for me. Maybe I was dreaming. Then again, weird stuff had happened before. Worse stuff. I felt tears stinging in my eyes. _Dang it Atka, _I thought, hastily wiping my eyes. _Don't think about it now. _I turned to Lykos.

_So do we have to climb the hill, or something?_

Lykos gave a curt, silent nod and began trudging across the road and onto the grass on the other side. I followed, tugging at my winter jacket. At the top of the hill, a giant pine tree stood tall and proud against the hill. Something hung from a low branch, glittering in the night. Below it, something was curled around the tree, smoke coming from one end. My throat almost closed up.

_Is that a dragon?_

_Yeah, I know right. Pft. They'd be much better off with a wolf to guard the fleece._

_Fleece, _I echoed, realizing the shinning gold color of the "thing" hanging from the tree.

We were almost to the top of the hill when I first heard it. A low growl, barely audible above the rising wind. I stopped in my tracks, chill going down my spine. I felt like two eyes were piercing right through my body. Lykos stopped and looked back at me.

_What's wrong?_

_N-nothing. _I said back. Shaking my head, I resumed walking up the hill. I kept looking back, but there was nothing there.

_There! _Lykos said. Looking to where his gaze was and found…a strawberry field.

_Um…what's there?_

_Oh right, you can't actually see it. Um…try closing your eyes then open them again, and, uh, stare really hard at the field. _

_Um…ok. _I was about to do as he told when the dragon lifted his head. I almost screamed, forgetting he was there. I braced myself to be ripped to shreds, but the creature only looked at us quizzically. We stared back.

_Just ignore him, _Lykos told me. I nodded and was about to look back at the field when the growl came again.

"Oh, what n-n-n-n-" I stuttered to a stop as a I found a pair of glowing, red eyes staring back at my own green ones. Lykos growled. His ears were pinned back, his lips pulled back in a snarl. I stumbled away from the massive creature before me. It was a giant mastiff, its fangs as long as my forearm. The dragon at the tree hissed and curled tighter around the tree's trunk. I turned towards him.

"Your not gonna help us, are you?"

He didn't respond. Silly me, thinking that after encountering a giant, talking wolf and a killer mastiff, a dragon could at least answer my questions.

The mastiff howled; an earsplitting sound that ripped apart the silence of the night. I jumped to the side as it lunged at me, a roar escaping from its mouth. I felt Lykos beside me, his fur fluffed out. The mastiff turned to us, its great head almost twice the size of Lykos'. My wolf friend muttered something to himself before lunging at the monster. I thought he was going to raor or howl or something, but he simply lifted himself off the ground in a silent attacked and rammed into the monster head on, his jaws clamping down on its shaggy neck. The monster stumbled, didn't. in second I relized what had happened. Lykos' attack had gone in too shallow. He hadn't only bit down on the fur and skin around the neck, not the veins themselves. M I watched in horro as my friend was thrown to the ground with a grunt. Lykos ushed him slef to his feets and glared at me.

_Are you going to help me or not?_

_Wait, me? Wh-wha-_

But I knew I had to. I mean come on. I wasn't going to let my only friend get killed before my eyes.

"Hey, _blood breath_!" I know, I'm horrible at insults. I had the sudden urge to flee as the monster turned on me, his eyes glowing with hatred. I swalloed my fear.

"Not the time, Atka, Not the time." I muttered to myself. Beside me Lykos shifted his postion. The monster saw the movement and charged. I cursed and rushed forward. I didn't know what I was doing, but I wasn't going to let that thing touch my friend! I pulled back my arm, then let it fling forward. I heard the monster yelp as my fist made contact with its muzzle. The yelp, though, turned into a roar and the monster spun around and snapped at my arm. I felt its fangs dig into my arm. In anger, I punched it again, this time hitting square in the eye. We both stumbled away from each other. The mastiff's eye was beginning to swell and it bayed, flashing its now blood stained teeth. I clutched my arm, blood seeping from between my fingers. I cursed again and stumbled towards Lykos. The warmth of my blood on my hand was beginning to make me dizzy. I leaned against Lykos, trying to clear my head. In front of us the mastiff was getting ready to charge.

_Well, this is it,_ I thought sadly to my self. I would die a lonely orphan with only one friend in the world. Oh well. It's better than dying by food poisoning because of Mary's cooking. I closed my eyes, willing it to be over quickly. Nothing happened. I waited. Still nothing. I opened my eyes. The monster dog was staring at something behind us. I turned, wincing at my arm, to see a human figure up on the hill, a sword clutched in her right hand. Her long hair was pulled back in a pony tail and she was clad in armor.

_This day just gets better and better._

_I know right._ Lykos' voice sounded heavy, even while he was thinking. Bad sign number one. Voice is heavy, even in thought.

The girl on the hill seemed to regard us for a moment. She opened her mouth and I barely heard her shout the word; "You!" above the wind.

"Me!" I yelled back and waved slightly with my good arm. I girl was about to move forward when the monster mastiff (yeah, he was still there) charged forward, his fangs aimed directally at my chest. Lykos made a move to shield me, but the girl beat him to it. She was there in an instant, swinging her sword with such accuratecy, I could barely hear in as it sliced through the air. The blade missed the monster by an inch and it jumped back, a snarl rising in its throat. The turned to look at me.

"How ya do'n?"

"Great," I said with a weak smile. "How 'bout you?"

"Not to shabby." She paused to look at my arm. "Maybe you should get that looked at."

"Gee, you think?"

The girl raised her hand in defense and turned her back on me. Oh I get it. Just ignore me. But don't worry. I'm sure I won't lose too much blood while you battle it out with a massive, monster dog. Lykos seemed to pick up o my thoughts, because he began to guide me back up the hill. Behind me, I could hear the girl and the dog fighting, sword against tooth. At the top of the hill, another kid in armor was waiting. He had black hair and his blue eyes seemed to pierce my own. I felt a lump in my throat as I looked at him. Maybe not in looks, but the way he stared at me reminded me a little bit of Tyler. The kid looked back at the fighting girl.

"You better get to the big house he said, still watching the girl fight.

"What?" I asked. I felt about ready to faint from the amount of blood I had lost already. From down the hill, I could hear the girl battling, shouting random comments as she fought.

"Why Won't you die you stupid hell hound?"

"Oh no you- Those were my good jeans buddy! I mean, come one!"

I stared at the hill in wonder.

"She'll be okay," the kid next to me said. 'Ryan's a good fighter."

"Cool," I murmered. I stumbled, but the kid caught me. I was glad it was so dark out, due to how much I was blushing.

"Come on," he said. "We'd better get you inside."

"Thanks" I said, and followed him past the pine tree. I gasped. Before, below in the valley, were about twenty cabins in an Omega formation where fields of strawberries once were. I large barn house stood off to one side. I couldn't believe my eyes. This was like a dream come true. One of the cabins was pure black, so black I wouldn't have been able to see if it were not for the torches of green fire blazing in the night. One glowed silver in the moonlight, while to large white cabins seemed to look down upon the rest. Below me my knees buckled. Lykos caught me and I felt the kid help me catch my balance.

"that's some dog, you've got there," he said with a smile.

"Wolf I murmured quietly. I felt my face get ready as he smiled again.

"So what's your name," the kid asked.

"Atka,' I said, my voice barely a whisper. "Yours?"

"Mine? You can call me Storm."


	5. Ryan 3

**HEY GUYS! Sorry we took soooooooooooooooooo looooooooooooooong to update this but we have a BIG announcement! Don't worry; we are continuing the story… sort of. Thing 1, my Twin sis, has decided to go off and write other things. So I, Thing 2, have been handed the reins. Whoa Horse-y…I SAID WHOA! **

**Later:**

**Hi I'm back. So anyways... yeah. I will do my best to keep Ryan in character. (Or else my twin will kick me.) She still owns the rights to Ryan, but is lending her to me for now. So yeah. This has been Thing 2 with your local story update. Now back to you, Barbra.**

**Haha just kidding. We don't have a news person named Barbra…*sigh***

**Disclaimer: I only own some characters. Ryan belongs to my sis/twin (don't kick me!) and the rest belong to Rick Riordan and his wonderful ways with cliff hangers. I mean, look at the Son of Neptune! COME ON!**

Ryan

Chiron Scares the Hades Out of a New Girl

When you wake up with a bunch of blond haired, grey eyed kids watching you, you tend to think you're missing something. I sat up, stretched and looked around at the confused faces of the Athena Cabin. One of my older siblings, Lily, scratched the back of her head.

"Not to be mean or anything, but why are you here?"

"Yeah," little Mini piped up. "Weren't you supposed to be at your dad's for the whole winter?"

I gave a small shrug.

"Well, you know how monsters tend to show up at really inconvenient times…"

"Ohh."

"Yeah."

The cabin fell silent for a little bit, so I decided it might be a good time to start getting dressed. As I was picking through my pile of clothes, (I used to have an actual drawer, but I gave mine to a new cabin mate.) I began to notice something was missing.

"Hey…where's Annabeth.

Carter looked up from where he was reading a large book on the study of birds.

"Huh? Oh she had to go back to school." He began to read again. "Remember, school starts for her the day after Christmas." He looked up and shrugged. "No New Years for her."

I sighed and tried to cover my disappointment by trying to find my other shoe.

"How long ago did she leave?" I said as I sat down on my bed. Mini began brushing my hair for me. Lily checked her watch.

"Hmmmm… about seven hours ago…"

"Wait, WHAT?!"

Mini jumped back as I crammed my foot into my shoe.

"Holy Hippocampus, I slept that long?!"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Mini resumed brushing my hair.

"Yup! And you missed breakfast too!"

I leapt from the bed.

"Dear Gods!" I cried and ran to the door, throwing my hands up into the air as I did. I flung the door open with a cry.

"BUT IT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY!"

I heard the door slam behind me as I sprinted across the camp, heading towards the biggest cabin in the valley. The great, white door opened before I even knocked, revealing a very tired looking son of Zeus. Storm looked as if he had also just woken up, which annoyed me to an extent. While my hair looked a bit like a family of rats had slept in it last night, his, like always, looked perfect and windswept. It's as if he crawls out of bed with perfect hair.

"You know, sometimes I think you should have been claimed by Aphrodite."

Storm scowled and looked down.

"Well I think you should have been claimed by-"

I cut him off.

"That's not important right now! I MISSED BREAKFAST!"

Storm rubbed his hand through his black hair and sighed. His blue eyes where shadowed with loss of sleep.

"I know." He said with a yawn. "I can see it in you hungry, energy depleted face."

I huffed and stalked away towards the Big House. Storm followed suit and together we made our way across camp. Somewhere off in the distance I heard the Ares campers yelling at the Apollo campers as they shot enchanted arrows at them. Every time they hit, they would explode in pink paint all over the victim. The Apollo campers had made a deal with the Aphrodite cabin; trading chores and such, to get them, and were enjoying every minute of the arrows. Storm snickered as one Ares camper ran by, bright pink paint dripping down his back.

"That's gotta suck."

"Yeah."

We slowed as we got to the big house. Outside on the front porch, Chiron sat, wheel chair bound, talking to Mr. D. Nearby a girl stood, clearly very uncomfortable. I immediately recognized her as the girl from last night. Now that I got a good look at her, I guessed she was about my age, slightly taller too. We walked up to the front porch and stood just behind where Chiron and Mr. D were engrossed in a game of cards. Chiron looked up as we came near and smiled.

"Ahh, Ryan, Storm! I see you've arrived." He paused. "How did you two sleep last night?"

"Like a bear."

Strom looked at me, a funny look on his face.

"What?" I exclaimed. "Bears sleep a lot in winter. It's winter. Duh."

Storm shook his head and looked towards the girl, who was watching us curiously. Chiron cleared his throat and Mr. D looked up.

"Huh? Oh yes," he grunted. "This is ah…"

"Atka."

"Yes! I know. This is Atka. Our new camper. You save her last night, she came here blah blah blah, you know the details." He set down his cards. "I believe I win Chiron."

Chiron smirked and set down his own cards. A perfect deck. Mr. D scowled a bit and got up. He turned to Atka, who cowered a bit under his gaze.

"These two little brats will show you around the camp. Please don't break anything. Don't get into fights…actually do that and maybe you'll get killed…one less brat to-"

"Mr. D!"

"Don't leave the camp and, please, keep that animal out of my stuff."

With that, he disappeared in a purple cloud, which smelled suspiciously like grapes. Chiron cleared his throat and looked at Atka, who eyes were wide, but otherwise showed no sign of emotion. A small moan escaped her lips as Chiron rose out of his chair and into his full blown centaur form. (I keep telling him he has to give some warning before he does that.) Chiron waited for Atka to say something, but she kept silent.

"Well," he said, turning to Storm and I. "Atka, this is Ryan and Storm. Ryan, Storm; this is Atka. Please show her around that camp and help her get settled." He gave a sigh. "I have to have a talk to the Apollo campers about their pink arrows."

With that, he cantered off.

I turned to Atka, who seemed a bit shaken, but otherwise fine. Her right arm was bandaged tightly, so that she could barely move it and she had a few cuts and scrapes on the legs and arms. Pretty good for a kid who fought a Hell Hound without any practice. For minute we stood there awkwardly, staring at each other, until finally Atka spoke up.

"Um…hi?"

Storm stuck out his hand.

"Hi I'm-"

"Storm," Atka interrupted tha blushed with embarrassment. "Sorry, we err… met last night."

Storm looked confused for a minute, then smiled.

"Oh, yeah." He turned to me. "This is Ryan. She fought the Hell Hound last night."

Atka smiled and stuck out her hand.

"I forgot to thank you last night. Sorry."

I shrugged.

"No biggie."

We stood there in silence again. (I seem to be in a lot of those)

"Um…" Atka said quietly. "I think you were supposed to show me around the camp."

"Oh!" I turned to Storm and motioned with my hand. "Lead the way dear son of Zeus."


End file.
